Antony Field

On Sunday December 12 Antony Field and Chip Smith presented a CD release party of their new Christmas CD You and Me on Christmas Eve @ Sterling's Upstairs @ Vitello's. For fans of jazz and country inspired music, this one's for you! Field has a vocal sound along the lines of Frank Sinatra or Harry Connick Jr. - a true gem of a singer with velvety smooth vocal chords - and musician Smith has an amazing versatility on keyboards, horn, sax and clarinet. Their 10 original Christmas songs have an easy-going, mellow sound perfect for a laid-back holiday evening by the fireside or sitting around a table with lots of friends and Christmas libation.

Highlights of the evening included traditional standards of Christmas and three traditional non Christmas numbers, as well as the 10 original Christmas songs from the CD. CD songs, all hopeful future standards are: "When It's Christmas", "Song of Joy", the country inspired "Home for Christmas", "Oh Santa Claus", "What Do You Want This Year?" "It's Lonely at Christmas Without You", "Puttin' Up the Christmas Lights", conceived as a kids' song, "Let's Get the Christmas Tree"", a jaunty two-beat theatre song, their most recent endeavor "Sliding Down the Chimney to You" and the title song "You and Me on Christmas Eve".

Christmas standards included: Andy Williams' favorite "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year", "I'll Be Home for Christmas", "Sleigh Ride", Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song", and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Non Christmas tunes included: Timothy Grey and Hugh Martin's "You'd Better Love Me While You May", "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and Duke Ellington's "Lucky So and So". The style of the originals fit perfectly with the standards, and vice versa, making the entire 80-minute set memorably joyful.

The comraderie between Field and Smith was a delight, with Smith frequently interjecting little anecdotes about their compositions. Definitely the funnier of the two, Smith facetiously expressed his desire for global domination of the Christmas market and gave, as an example of success, Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song", which put four of his children through college. The Chip Smith quartet, Phil Small on piano, Doug Macaskill on guitar, Peter Marshall on bass and Tony Humecke on percussion blended unbelievably, enriching the entire experience for all. - by Don Grigware

Christmas is in the air everywhere, so why should Sterling’s Upstairs at Vitello’s be any different? Antony Field is one of the most promising singer/songwriters to have shown themselves on the West Coast. Paired with his co-writer, Chip Smith, a jazz pianist, composer, and woodwind specialist (plays a mean sax), they used Sterling’s Upstairs at Vitello’s to launch their latest, a truly splendid collection of original Christmas songs called You and Me on Christmas Eve.

Their collaboration has produced a growing catalogue of multi-genre songs, one of which was chosen as a finalist in the prestigious American Songwriting Competition. This Christmas album is full of beautiful songs that are tailored for a variety of tastes. The pair is remarkable in that they can comfortably compose jazz, country, traditional, theatrical, rock songs, and ballads.

Antony Field is a lounge singer in the best sense of the word. Sinatra was a lounge singer but Field has an even broader range. His voice is mellow, fluid, and smooth, delivered with a relaxed manner and a confident singing voice.

Not all the songs were original; "It’s a Wonderful Time of the Year" by Pola and Wyle started the set. Other songs composed by others (though given a fresh presentation) were the beautiful “I’ll Be Home For Christmas," “You’d Better Love Me while you May," which is a great song by Timothy Grey and Hugh Martin, "Sleigh Ride" (made famous by Andy Williams), Mel Torme’s famous "The Christmas Song," and finally “ Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Their original songs included a ballad, “Oh Santa Claus,” a funny “Sliding Down the Chimney to You,” a jaunty “Let's Get the Christmas Tree,” and a very good country song, “It’s Lonely at Christmas Without You." They concluded the set with the title track of their album, a swinging “You and Me on Christmas Eve.”

Field and Smith have a nice rapport with each other and with other members of the combo: Doug Macaskill, a wonderful guitarist, Peter Marshall on bass, and Tony Humecke, the drummer, who was silent in comparison with the others' festive mood. Judging from this concert, this Christmas album, if it gets the play and exposure it needs, could be a big hit. - by Robert Machray

PRESS RELEASE
SONGWRITER RECOGNIZED BY INTERNATIONAL CONTEST
Los Angeles native Antony Field recently received the honor of being named Finalist by the Song of the Year ( http://www.songoftheyear.com/ ) songwriting contest. Song of the Year is an international songwriting contest supporting VH-1’s Save the Music Foundation. The Song of the Year judges are some of the biggest names in music including many Grammy Award winners. Song of the Year is excited to recognize Antony for his exceptional songwriting ability for the song “All I Think About”. Antony competed against songwriters from all over the world for this honor. When asked what inspired the song, Antony Field commented that “the actual genesis of the song was as an exercise in different themes, but as I started to work on the idea, it became something much more.”Currently Antony is concentrating on both his songwriting and his singing career while hoping to get a record or publishing deal. “I would love the opportunity to get my music out into the world in a much larger context. Whether that means getting signed and touring or having another singer perform my music, either option or both would be amazing.”You can find more information about Antony Field by going to his website at www.Antony-Field.com.
- VH1 Song of the Year